South American bloc demands US revoke Venezuela order

QUITO, Ecuador (AP) — South American nations are joining in criticizing U.S. President Barack Obama's declaration that Venezuela represents a national security threat to his nation, calling it interventionism.

Foreign ministers from the 12-nation Union of South American Nations, meeting in special session in Ecuador on Saturday, called Obama's executive order a threat to Venezuelan sovereignty and to the principle of nonintervention in other countries' internal affairs.

They called on Washington to revoke the decree.

Obama declared Venezuela a national security threat Monday and imposed sanctions on seven current and former Venezuelan officials who he accused of rights violations.

The rising tensions between Washington and Caracas come as diplomatic ties improve between the United States and Cuba, Venezuela's closest ally, but also after years of diminished U.S. diplomatic and commercial influence in the Americas.